kennedy had shown richard nixon mainly because of the way he looked on screen. do these debates boil down to style over substance? we're joined by brian callahan who coaches government and industry leaders in public speaking. how much do looks matter in this? if nixon had sweated less in that clip that we just saw, would he have done better? >> i think he would have. particularly since it was the dawn of television and people were getting visual cues for the first time. when senator kennedy looked much more comfortable than nixon, that played very much to his advantage. >> well, let's take a look at the presidential debate now in 1984. ronald reagan was asked if he was too old to be president. >> i want you to know that i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. [laughter] >> that is also one of my favorite lines. >> that is my favorite as well. >> it is pretty good. it tells us nothing about policy but it made us laugh. >> it tells us that he had a sense of humor. this was